Tuesday, March 20, 2012

Post Game: Game #73 Oilers 6 Predators 3

Scoring Summary
1st Period
EDM Darcy Hordichuk 1 (Ben Eager, Eric Belanger) 12:50

EDM Ales Hemsky 7 (Jeff Petry, Teemu Hartikainen) 16:22

NSH David Legwand 17 (Gabriel Bourque, Shea Weber) 19:53


2nd Period
EDM Ales Hemsky 8 (Teemu Hartikainen, Sam Gagner) 0:28

EDM Ryan Jones 15 (PP) (Jeff Petry, Ryan Whitney) 5:51

NSH Patric Hornqvist 24 (PP) (Mike Fisher, Martin Erat) 12:35

EDM Ales Hemsky 9 (Unassisted) 14:03


3rd Period
NSH David Legwand 18 (Patric Hornqvist, Gabriel Bourque) 4:18

EDM Sam Gagner 16 (EN) (Ales Hemsky) 18:19


Penalty Summary
1st Period
None


2nd Period
4:09 Nashville high-sticking - 2 min S. Weber drawn by R. Jones
10:28 Edmonton roughing - 2 min B. Eager drawn by P. Hornqvist
10:54 Edmonton high-sticking - 2 min L. Smid drawn by M. Erat

3rd Period
0:32 Edmonton interference - 2 min T. Hartikainen drawn by D. Legwand
8:42 Edmonton interference - 2 min J. Petry drawn by P. Hornqvist
14:28 Edmonton roughing - 2 min S. Horcoff drawn by F. Bouillon
14:28 Nashville roughing - 2 min F. Bouillon drawn by S. Horcoff

Shots On Goal - Oilers 20 Predators 44

Game Notes:
- Normally I feel pretty good about an Oilers win, but boy, that game was full hockey anomaly. Pekka Rinne stunk and was pulled after the 3rd goal, Ales Hemsky recorded his firat career NHL hat trick, Devan Dubnyk got stronger as the game went on, just things that you normally don't see during the course of the game. Things that have been seen before are the Oilers allowing Nashville line rushes that turned Dubnyk into a target dummy, especially in the third period where Nashville really cranked up the pressure. Luckily for the Oilers, Nashville does not have a lot of sniping ability, but kudos to Dubnyk for really holding up the fort. Lots of anomaly in this game. Does this game absolve Steve Tambellini for re-signing Ales Hemsky? It doesn't in my view. Is Devan Dubnyk ready to be annointed the starter for next year by the Oilers? I can't see how. Sure, he's been great over the last 5 starts, but he has had many games this year where he looked like a total flake. I still think at the very best, he is going to need someone around his age that will push him next year. But if the Oilers let him walk next year, I'd be OK with that. The Oilers are playing better over the last 4 games, thats undeniable, but you can still see some of the pieces that are still missing. At some point the Oilers will have to go forward with their team, leaving some players behind.

Player of the Game:
- Ales Hemsky. 2nd game in a row for Mr. Hemsky. He had some serious puck luck tonight, but he also had the ability to stay with the puck and finish plays at the net. Hemsky finished the game with 3 goals, an assist and +4. Hemsky is starting to skate better, feels more confident about making plays, it looks like someone finally got through to him about managing the puck. His body language is a lot better these days and looks like a player that truly wants to be here. Its a good sign for him and a good sign for the team. Question is, do the Oilers bring in a center to play with him? Because I don't believe Sam Gagner is that player.

Goat of the Game:
- Jordan Eberle. Its odd to have a game where the Oilers score 6 but the kids get shutout. RNH and Eberle really struggled in their ability to manage the puck tonight. And once they lost the puck, they had a dickens of a time trying to get it back. Games like this will happen and I put it up as a one off, fortunately for the Oilers they still found a way to get the W. Eberle was a team worst -2 with only 1 shot on goal tonight.


Next Game - Thursday March 22, 2012 vs. Lightning @ Tampa Bay on Sportsnet Edmonton 5:30 PM MT.

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